Dr. Cantu began his storied career more than 30 years ago with the United States Secret Service; Dr. Cantu was the Chief Forensic Chemist of FSD and officially retired in 2007. Although Dr. Cantu retired, he remained as a consultant and vital part of FSD until the time of his passing.
Dr. Cantu was internationally known as an expert regarding the chemistry of documents and fingerprints. Dr. Cantu worked on the first ink dating case using the relative aging of inks to determine when the ink was placed on a document. This type of forensic analysis was important because of its strong correlation between “ink” and the Secret Service Counterfeit/Financial Crimes Investigations and or a threat investigation against an individual the Secret Service protects, to include the President, and Vice President.
As the Chief Forensic Chemist, Dr. Cantu oversaw the international ink library, which he helped collect and consolidate more than 11,000 samples, dating back as early as the 1920s. The FSD laboratory is the leading laboratory when it comes to its forensic capabilities to identify ink makes, models, types and document authenticity.
Dr. Cantu worked on or testified to as an expert witness on several high profile investigations. Some of those investigations include: the Washington, D.C. Sniper shootings, the John Demjanuk (Ivan the Terrible) case involving Nazi war crimes, and the Dr. Joseph Mengele (the Angel of Death) case, among many others.
Upon his passing, Dr. Cantu gifted the Secret Service his personal library collection that has been methodically organized and implanted into the FSD library. Today, Secret Service and members of the Cantu family will dedicate the FSD library with a plaque and reveal a new design for the international ink library display in honor of Dr. Cantu’s legacy. Through early visionaries like Dr. Cantu, the work and dedication is a true testament to the long storied tradition of the United States Secret Service Forensic Services Division Question Documents Branch.
To learn more about Secret Service Forensic Services Division Question Documents Branch, click here.
Press Release
United States Secret Service